Image reading apparatus

ABSTRACT

An image reading apparatus, including a feed tray, a conveyance guide, a conveyor, a reading sensor, a first housing, a first driving source, a first driving train, a second driving source, and a second driving train, is provided. The first housing accommodates at least the conveyance guide and the conveyor and has a first outer face and a second outer face facing opposite to each other in a widthwise direction. The first driving source and the first driving train are accommodated in the first housing on a side toward the first outer face. The first driving train transmits a driving force from the first driving source to the conveyor. The second driving source and the second driving train are accommodated in the first housing on a side toward the second outer face. The second driving train transmits a driving force from the second driving source to the movable plate.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority from Japanese Patent Application No.2019-060889, filed on Mar. 27, 2019, the entire subject matter of whichis incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND Technical Field

An aspect of the present disclosure is related to an image readingapparatus.

Related Art

An image reading apparatus including a document feeder is known. Thedocument feeder may include a feed tray, a conveyance guide, and aconveyor.

The feed tray may support an original document being fed and may moveupward or downward in a vertical direction according to an amount ofsheets in the original document supported by the feed tray. Theconveyance guide may guide the original document to be conveyed from thefeed tray.

The conveyor may include a document pickup device, a conveyor roller,and a registration roller. The conveyor may convey the original documentsupported on the feed tray to travel along the conveyance guide. At anintermediate position along the conveyance guide, arranged may be animage reading position, at which an image of the original document beingconveyed along the conveyance guide may be captured.

The document feeder may be equipped with a first driving device to drivethe conveyor and a second driving device to move the feed tray in thevertical direction. The first driving device and the second drivingdevice may be arranged on one side of the conveyance guide in awidthwise direction in the document feeding apparatus.

SUMMARY

In the above-mentioned document feeder, items that form the firstdriving device and the second driving device such as motors and gearsmay be arranged closely to one another in a limited area on the one sideof the document feeder in the widthwise direction, but it may bedifficult to reserve a substantial capacity for those items. In thisregard, freedom of layout to arrange the first driving device and thesecond driving device within the document feeder may be limited.

The present disclosure is advantageous in that an image readingapparatus, in which a first driving source, a first driving train, asecond driving source, and a second driving train may be arranged morefreely, is provided.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, an image readingapparatus, including a feed tray, a conveyance guide, a conveyor, areading sensor, a first housing, a first driving source, a first drivingtrain, a second driving source, and a second driving train, is provided.The feed tray is configured to support sheets for being fed. The feedtray includes a movable plate configured to move vertically according toan amount of the sheets supported by the feed tray. The conveyance guideis configured to guide the sheets conveyed from the feed tray. Theconveyor is configured to convey the sheets supported by the feed trayalong the conveyance guide. The reading sensor is configured to readimages of the sheets conveyed along the conveyance guide. The firsthousing accommodates at least the conveyance guide and the conveyor. Thefirst housing has a first outer face and a second outer face facingopposite to each other in a widthwise direction of the conveyance guide.The first driving source is accommodated in the first housing on a sidetoward the first outer face. The first driving source is configured toproduce a driving force. The first driving train is accommodated in thefirst housing on the side toward the first outer face. The first drivingtrain is configured to transmit the driving force from the first drivingsource to the conveyor. The second driving source is accommodated in thefirst housing on a side toward the second outer face. The second drivingsource is configured to produce a driving force. The second drivingtrain is accommodated in the first housing on the side toward the secondouter face. The second driving train is configured to transmit thedriving force from the second driving source to the movable plate.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an image reading apparatus according toan embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram to illustrate a configuration of the imagereading apparatus according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a perspective partial view of the image reading apparatusaccording to the embodiment of the present disclosure with a firsthousing at an open position.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional partial view of the image reading apparatusaccording to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is another cross-sectional partial view of the image readingapparatus according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a top plan view of the first housing of the image formingapparatus according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of the first housing, with a cover member beingremoved, in the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 8 is a plan partial view of the first housing, with the covermember, a first chute member, and a movable plate being removed, in theimage forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 9 is a perspective partial view of the first housing, with thecover member, the first chute member, and the movable plate beingremoved, in the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 10 is a front partial view of the first housing, with an exteriorwall on a front side being removed, in the image reading apparatusaccording to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following paragraphs, described with reference to theaccompanying drawings will be an embodiment of the present disclosure.It is noted that various connections may be set forth between elementsin the following description. These connections in general and, unlessspecified otherwise, may be direct or indirect and that thisspecification is not intended to be limiting in this respect. It will beunderstood that those skilled in the art will appreciate that there arenumerous variations and permutations of an image reading apparatus thatfall within the spirit and scope of the invention.

[Embodiment]

FIG. 1 shows an image reading apparatus 1 according to the embodiment ofthe present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 1, positional relation withinthe image reading apparatus 1 and each part or item included in theimage reading apparatus 1 will be mentioned on basis of the orientationof the image reading apparatus 1 as indicated by arrows in FIG. 1. Forexample, a side, on which an operation panel 8P is arranged, is definedas a front side of the image reading apparatus 1, and a side opposite tothe front side is defined as a rear side. A right-hand side and aleft-hand side to a user who faces the front side of the image readingapparatus 1 are defined as a rightward side and a leftward side,respectively. Moreover, a right-to-left or left-to-right direction maybe called as a crosswise direction, a front-to-rear or rear-to-frontdirection may be called as a front-rear direction, and a directionorthogonal to the crosswise direction and to the front-rear directionmay be called as an up-down direction or a vertical direction.Furthermore, directions of the drawings in FIGS. 3-10 are similarlybased on the orientation of the image reading apparatus 1 as definedabove and correspond to those with respect to the image readingapparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 even when the drawings are viewed fromdifferent angles.

<Overall Configuration>

As shown in FIGS. 1-4, the image reading apparatus 1 includes a firsthousing 9 and a second housing 8 arranged at a position lower than thefirst housing 9.

As shown in FIG. 1, the second housing 8 has an approximate shape of ashort rectangular box. On a front side of the second housing 8, arrangedis the operation panel 8P including a touch panel. In a lower positionin the second housing 8, stored is an image forming unit 5, which mayform an image on a sheet in one of known printing techniques such asinkjet printing and laser printing.

As shown in FIG. 4, in an upper area in the second housing 8, arrangedis a reader unit 3, which may be used when an image of an originaldocument is read.

In the first housing 9, arranged are a feed tray 91, an ejection tray96, and an automatic conveyor 4. The feed tray 91 and the ejection tray91 are arranged in a rightward area in the first housing 9. As shown inFIGS. 4 and 5, the feed tray 91 supports one or more sheets SH to befed. The automatic conveyor 4 includes a conveyance guide 30, which isarranged on a downstream side of the feed tray 91 in a conveyingdirection D1 to convey the sheets SH. The conveying direction D1 is adirection for each sheet SH to travel along the conveyance guide 30,leftward from the feed tray 91, turning downward and rightward in ashape of U at a leftward area in the openable/closable body 9, to reachthe ejection tray 96.

The automatic conveyor 4 may be used when the sheets SH supported on thefeed tray 91 are conveyed one by one in the conveying direction D1 alongthe conveyance guide 30 so that images of the sheets SH being conveyedare read by the reader unit 3 and ejected to rest on the ejection tray96.

As shown in FIG. 2, the second housing 8 stores a controller 7 therein.The controller 7 includes a microcomputer including, but not limited to,a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM. The ROM may store programs for controllingbehaviors of the image forming apparatus 1 and for executing a varietyof processes. The RAM may serve as a memory area to temporarily storedata and signals, which may be used by the CPU to run the programs, andas a work area to process data. The controller 7 may control overallacts in the image reading apparatus 1 including the image forming unit2, the reader unit 3, the automatic conveyor 4, and the operation panel8P.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, on an upper side of the second housing 8,arranged is a platen glass. An upper surface of the platen glassprovides a document supporting surface 8A, which occupies a larger areaon the upper side of the second housing 8. Further, at a leftwardposition with respect to the document supporting surface 8A on the upperside of the second housing 8, arranged is another platen glass. An uppersurface of the another platen glass provides a reader surface 8Bextending longitudinally in the front-rear direction.

The document supporting surface 8A may support an original document frombelow when the reader unit 3 reads an image of the original documentplaced still on the document supporting surface 8A. The originaldocument to be read may include, for example, a sheet, including paperand OHP film, and pages of a book.

The reader surface 8B may contact each of the sheets SH being conveyedone by one by the automatic conveyor 4 from below when the reader unit 3reads images of the sheets SH. At a position on the upper side of thesecond housing 8 between the document supporting surface 8A and thereader surface 8B, arranged is a guiding protrusion 8H. The guidingprotrusion 8H may guide the sheet SH being conveyed on the readersurface 8B to lift from the reader surface 8B and turn upper-rightward.

In the present embodiment, an object, whose image may be read by use ofthe document supporting surface 8A, may be called as an originaldocument, and an object, whose image may be read while the object isbeing conveyed by the automatic conveyor 4, may be called as a sheet. Anoriginal document and a sheet may be substantially a same object. Inother words, an original document may be used as a sheet, and a sheetmay be used as an original document.

As shown in FIG. 3, the first housing 9 is swingably coupled to thesecond housing 8 to swing about an open/close axis X9 through two (2)hinges 80, which are arranged at a rear end area of the second housing8. The open/close axis X9 extends in the crosswise direction, which isparallel to an edge 8A1 of the document supporting surface 8A.

Each of the hinges 80 includes a base part 81 and a supporting part 83.The base part 81 is held by a rear end part of the second housing 8 andswingably supports the supporting part 83 to swing about the open/closeaxis X9. The base part 81 may ascend from the second housing 8 when, forexample, the original document supported on the document supportingsurface 8A is a book having thickness, to adapt to the thickness.Moreover, the base part 81 contains springs and slider cams for servingas a torque hinge, by which the supporting part 83 may stay stationaryat a desired swing angle. The supporting part 83 supports a rear endpart of the first housing 9.

When the first housing 9 is located at a closed position, as shown inFIGS. 1 and 4, the first housing 9 covers the document supportingsurface 8A and the reader surface 8B from above. As shown in FIG. 3, thefirst housing 9 may, with a frontward part thereof being moved to swingupper-rearward about the open/close axis 9A, move to an open position,in which the document supporting surface 8A and the reader surface 8Bare exposed. With this swingable structure of the first housing 9, theuser may place the original document being the object on the documentsupporting surface 8A.

In the following paragraphs, positional relation within the firsthousing 9 and each part or item contained in the first housing 9 will bementioned on basis of the posture of the first housing 9 being at theclosed position.

The reader unit 3 includes a reading sensor 3S, which is stored in anupper area in the second housing 8, as shown in FIGS. 2-4, a scannerdriving source 3M, as shown in FIG. 2, and a scanner device to be drivenby the scanner driving source 3M, which is not shown. The reading sensor3S may be a known image reading sensor, such as a contact image sensor(CIS) or a charge coupled device (CCD).

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the reading sensor 3S is located at a lowerposition with respect to the document supporting surface 8A and thereader surface 8B. The scanner device (not shown) is, in order to readan image of an original document supported on the document supportingsurface 8A, driven by the scanner driving source 3M to move the readingsensor 3S to reciprocate in the crosswise direction in the areaunderneath the document supporting surface 8A in the second housing 8.On the other hand, in order to read an image of a sheet SH beingconveyed by the automatic conveyor 4, the scanner device is driven bythe scanner driving source 3M, and the reading sensor 3S is stopped at aposition underneath the reader surface 3B in the second housing 8 sothat the reader 3S staying still may read an image of a sheet SH beingconveyed by the automatic conveyor 4. The position where the readingsensor 3S stops underneath the reader surface 3B is a predeterminedstationary reading position.

<Configurations of Base Member, First Chute Member, Second Chute Member,and Cover Member>

As shown in FIG. 4, the first housing 9 includes a base member 39, afirst chute member 35, a second chute member 37, and a cover member 38.

The base member 39 forms a bottom part of the first housing 9. Arightward part of the base member 39 forms the ejection tray 96, and ina leftward part of the base member 39, in a range coincident with thereader surface 8B and the guiding protrusion 8H, formed is a rectangularhole 39H.

A leftward part of the base member 39 with respect to the rectangularhole 39H forms a conveyor surface 39G1. A leftward part of the conveyorsurface 39G1 curves to change an orientation thereof from downward tolower-rightward and extends to incline lower-rightward to a leftwardedge of the rectangular hole 39H.

A rightward part of the base member 39 with respect to the rectangularhole 39H forms a conveyor surface 39G2. The conveyor surface 39G2inclines upper-rightward from a position adjacent to the guidingprotrusion 8H.

The second chute member 37 is arranged at an upper position with respectto the leftward part of the base member 39. The second chute member 37is formed to have a pressing-member retainer 37F and guiding surfaces37G1, 37G2.

The pressing-member retainer 37F is a recessed portion formed to recessupward at a position to face the reader surface 8B. The pressing-memberretainer 37F retains a pressing member 37P movably. The pressing member37P may press the sheet SH being conveyed on the reader surface 8B fromabove and restrain the sheet SH from being separated from the readersurface 8B.

The guiding surface 37G1 is located at a position leftward with respectto the pressing member retainer 37F. A leftward part of the guidingsurface 37G1 curves along the leftward part of the conveyor surface 39G1in the base member 39. Moreover, the guiding surface 37G1 inclineslower-rightward along the lower-rightward inclination of the conveyorsurface 39G1 in the base member 39.

The guiding surface 37G2 is located at a position rightward with respectto the pressing-member retainer 37F. The guiding surface 37G2 inclinesupper-rightward along the inclination of the guiding protrusion 8H inthe second housing 8 and the conveyor surface 39G2 in the base member39.

The first chute member 35 is arranged at an upper position with respectto the second chute member 37. The first chute member 35 is formed tohave a conveyor surface 36 and a restrictive surface 60.

The conveyor surface 36 is located on a downstream side of the feed tray91 in the conveying direction D1 and extends upper-leftward. An upstreamend of the conveyor surface 36 in the conveying direction D1, i.e., arightward end of the conveyor surface 36, forms a conveyor edge 36E. Aleftward end of the conveyor surface 36 curves to change an orientationthereof from leftward to downward.

The restrictive surface 60 extends downward from the conveyor edge 36Eof the conveyor surface 36 in a direction intersecting with theconveying direction D1. The restrictive surface 60 may contact leadingedges of the sheets SH supported on the feed tray 91. A lower end 60E ofthe restrictive surface 60 is located at a position lower and rightwardwith respect to the conveyor edge 36E of the conveyor surface 36.

The cover member 38 is arranged at an upper position with respect to thefirst chute member 35. The cover member 38 includes a plurality of ribs38R that protrude downward, and lower edges of the ribs 38R form aguiding surface 38G, which virtually spreads along the lower edges ofthe ribs 38R. In other words, the cover member 38 includes the guidingsurface 38G. A rightward part of the guiding surface 38G faces theconveyor surface 36 from above at a position displaced leftward from theconveyor edge 36E of the conveyor surface 36 in the first chute member35. The guiding surface 38G extends to incline leftward and moderatelyupward along the conveyor surface 36 in the first chute member 35. Aleftward part of the guiding face 38G curves along the leftward part ofthe conveyor surface 36 in the first chute member 35.

The conveyor surface 36 and the restrictive surface 60 in the firstchute member 35, the guiding face 38G in the cover member 38, theconveyor surfaces 39G1, 39G2 in the base member 39, and the guidingsurfaces 37G1, 37G2 in the second chute member 37 form a conveyanceguide 30. The conveyance guide 30 is accommodated in the first housing9.

The conveyor surfaces 36, 39G1, 39G2, and the guiding surfaces 38G 37G1,37G2 extend along the conveying direction D1 and define a conveyor path,in which the sheets SH are conveyed from the feed tray 91 to theejection tray 96.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 6-9, when the first housing 9 is in the closedposition, a widthwise direction W1 of the conveyance guide 30 coincideswith the front-rear direction. The widthwise direction W1 intersectsorthogonally with the open/close axis X9.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 6, the first housing 9 has a front face 9A and arear face 9B. The front face 9A and the rear face 9B face away oppositeto each other in the widthwise direction W1 of the conveyance guide 30.The front face 9A is located on a side of the first housing 9 oppositeto the open/close axis X9 and spreads in the vertical and crosswisedirections. The rear face 9B is located on the same side of the firsthousing 9 as the open/close axis X9 and spreads in the vertical andcrosswise directions.

In FIG. 6, a part of an exterior wall of the first housing 9 on a sidetoward the front face 9A is not shown. In FIG. 7, parts of exteriorwalls of the first housing 9 on the side toward the front face 9A and onthe side toward the rear face 9B, and the cover member 38 are not shown.In FIGS. 8 and 9, a part of the exterior wall of the first housing 9 onthe side toward the front face 9A, a part of the exterior wall of thefirst housing 9 on the side toward the rear face 9B, the cover member38, the first chute member 35, and a movable plate 50 are not shown. InFIG. 10, a part of the exterior wall of the first housing 9 on the sidetoward the front face 9A is now shown.

As shown in FIGS. 6-10, the first housing 9 includes a side frame 95Aand a metal plate 99A, a side frame 95B, and a metal plate 99B. The sideframe 95A and the metal plate 99A may be referred to as the metal plate99A and the metal plate 99A on the front. The side frame 95B and themetal plate 99B may be referred to as the side frame 95B and the metalframe 99B on the rear.

The side frame 95A and the metal plate 99A on the front are located on aside toward the front face 9A of the first housing 9 frontward sideframe 95A. In other words, the side frame 95A and the metal plate 99Aare located at positions closer to the front face 9A of the firsthousing 9 and farther from the rear face 9B. The side frame 95A and themetal plate 99A extend in the crosswise direction along the front face9A. The metal plate 99A is fastened to the side frame 95A integrally by,for example, screws.

The side frame 95B and the metal plate 99B on the rear are located on aside toward the rear face 9B of the first housing 9. In other words,side frame 95B and the metal plate 99B on the rear are located atpositions closer to the rear face 9B of the first housing 9 and fartherfrom the front face 9A. The side frame 95B and the metal plate 99B onthe rear extend in the crosswise direction along the rear face 9B. Themetal plate 99B is fastened to the side frame 95B integrally by, forexample, screws.

A pair of the side frame 95A and the metal plate 99A on the front and apair of the side frame 95B and the metal plate 99B on the rear face eachother in the in the widthwise direction W1, with the conveyance guide 30interposed there-between.

<Configuration of Feed Tray>

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the feed tray 91 is arranged at an upperposition with respect to the ejection tray 96 to vertically overlap theejection tray 96.

The feed tray 91 includes a feed tray body 92 and the movable plate 50.The feed tray body 92 extends from a rightward area in the first housing9 to incline moderately lower-leftward. The movable plate 50 is arrangedto adjoin a leftward end portion of the feed tray body 92. The movableplate 50 extends substantially in a plane toward the restrictive surface60 in the first chute member 35.

A leftward part of the movable plate 50 is covered by a rightward partof the cover member 38 from above. The feed tray 91 supports the sheetsSH to be fed to the automatic conveyor 4 on the feed tray body 92 andthe movable plate 50. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the movable plate 50 ispivotable about a pivot axis X50, which extends in the front-reardirection.

At a lower position with respect to the movable plate 50, arranged is alink lever 58. As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the link lever 58 is arrangedat a position, at which the link lever 58 may contact a central part ofthe movable plate 50 in the widthwise direction W1. A pivot shaft 57 ofthe link lever 58 extends frontward, and a frontward end 57A of the linklever 58 protrudes frontward with respect to the side frame 95 and themetal plate 99A on the front.

As shown in, for example, FIGS. 9 and 10, the automatic conveyor 4includes a second driving source M2 and a second driving train 120. Thesecond driving source M2 and the second driving train 120 areaccommodated in the first housing 9 on a side toward the front face 9A,in other words, in an area closer to the front face 9A and farther fromthe rear face 9B. The second driving source M2 is supported by a bentpiece 99A1, which is a part of the metal plate 99A on the front bendingfrontward. The second driving train 120 is supported by the side frame95A and the metal plate 99A on the front. As shown in FIG. 8, the seconddriving source M2 and the second driving train 120 are arranged atpositions in an area between the front face 9A of the first housing 9and the pair of the side frame 95 and the metal plate 99A in thewidthwise direction W1.

The second driving source M2 is rotatable bidirectionally, i.e., in anormal direction or a reverse direction, under the control of thecontroller 7 to produce a driving force. The second driving source M2may be a direct current motor, and when the second driving source M2 isnot powered, a retaining force to a driving shaft of the second drivingsource M2 is not maintained.

As shown in FIG. 8, a driving axis X2 of the second driving source M2extends in a direction orthogonal to the widthwise direction W1. Asshown in FIG. 10, the driving axis X2 of the second driving source M2inclines with respect to the vertical direction and a horizontaldirection in a view along the widthwise direction W1, i.e., thefront-rear direction.

As shown in, for example, FIGS. 9 and 10, the second driving train 120includes a worm gear 121, a worm wheel gear 122, and spur gears 123,124.

The worm gear 121 is fixed to the driving shaft of the second drivingsource M2 to rotate integrally with the driving shaft. The worm wheelgear 122 meshes with the worm gear 121. The spur gear 123 is formed at arearward side of the worm gear 121 to rotate integrally with the wormgear 121. The spur gear 124 is fixed to the frontward end 27A of thepivot shaft 57 of the link lever 58 to rotate integrally with the pivotshaft 57. The spur gear 124 meshes with the spur gear 123.

As the second driving source M2 rotates in the normal direction, thedriving force from the second driving source M2 may be transmitted tothe link lever 58 through the second driving train 120. Thereby, thelink lever 58 may pivot upward and push the movable plate 50 upward.Accordingly, the movable plate 50 may pivot about the pivot axis X50 tomove upward from the position shown in FIG. 4 to the position shown inFIG. 5.

On the other hand, when the second driving source M2 rotates in thereverse direction, the driving force from the second driving source M2may be transmitted to the link lever 58 through the second driving train120. Thereby, the link lever 58 may pivot downward, and the movableplate 50 accompanying with the link lever 58 may descend. Accordingly,the movable plate 50 may pivot about the pivot axis X50 to move downwardfrom the position shown in FIG. 5 to the position shown in FIG. 4.

When the second driving source M2 stops rotating under the control ofthe controller 7, the retaining force to the driving shaft of the seconddriving source M2 is discontinued. Therefore, the weight of the movableplate 50 may be transmitted to the worm wheel gear 122 and the worm gear121 through the link lever 58, the spur gear 124, and the spur gear 123;and the worm gear 121 and the worm wheel gear 122 may be interlocked.Therefore, the movable plate 50 may be maintained at the positionwithout descending.

The movable plate 50 includes a facing end 50E. The facing end 50E formsan end of the movable plate 50 on a downstream side in the conveyingdirection D1 and faces the restrictive face 60.

When the movable plate 50 is at the position shown in FIG. 4, the facingend 50E faces a part of the restrictive face 60 closer to the lower end60E; and when the movable plate 50 is at a position shown in FIG. 5, thefacing end 50E faces another part of the restrictive face 60 closer tothe conveyor edge 36E of the conveyor surface 36. In other words, thefacing end 50E continues facing the restrictive surface 60 regardless ofthe pivoting movements of the movable plate 50.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 6, on the movable plate 50, arranged are two (2)width-restrictive guides 59A, 59B, which are slidable in the front-reardirection. The width-restrictive guides 59A, 59B, which are locatedfrontward and rearward, respectively, may be moved to be closer to orfarther from each other in the widthwise direction W1 so that thewidth-restrictive guides 59A, 59B may flank the sheets SH to support thesheets SH on the feed tray 91 steadily, regardless of the width of thesheets SH, at a position centered about the center of the feed tray 91in the widthwise direction W1.

In an area on the upper face of the first housing 9 between thewidth-restrictive guide 59A on the front and the front face 9A in thewidthwise direction W1, formed is a shelter portion 98A. The shelterportion 98A recesses frontward toward the front face 9A and away fromthe width-restrictive guide 59A and dents downward.

In an area on the upper face of the first housing 9 between thewidth-restrictive guide 59B on the rear and the rear face 9B in thewidthwise direction W1, formed is a shelter portion 98B. The shelterportion 98B recesses rearward toward the rear face 9B and away from thewidth restrictive guide 59B and dents downward.

With the shelter portions 98A, 98B, a user may pinch thewidth-restrictive guides 59A, 59B with fingers and slidably move thewidth restrictive guides 59A, 59B in the widthwise direction W1 to amaximum extent.

As shown in FIG. 6, the second driving source M2 is arranged at aposition to partly coincide with the shelter portion 98A on the front inthe widthwise direction W1. Moreover, the second driving train 120 isarranged at a position to partly coincide with the shelter portion 98Aon the front in the widthwise direction W1.

<Configurations of Feed Roller, Separation Roller, First and SecondConveyor Rollers, and Ejection Roller>

As shown in FIG. 4, the automatic conveyor 4 includes, for conveying thesheets SH along the conveyance guide 30, a feed roller 41, a separationroller 42, a separation pad 42A, a first conveyor roller 43, a firstpinch roller 43P, a second conveyor roller 44, a second pinch roller44P, an ejection roller 47, and an ejection pinch roller 47P.

The feed roller 41, the separation roller 42, the separation pad 42A,the first conveyor roller 43, the first pinch roller 43P, the secondconveyor roller 44, the second pinch roller 44P, the ejection roller 47,and the ejection pinch roller 47P are accommodated in the first housing9.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the automatic conveyor 4 includes a firstdriving source M1 and a first driving train 110. The first drivingsource M1 and the first driving train 110 are accommodated in the firsthousing 9 on a side toward the rear face 9B, i.e., in an area closer tothe rear face 9B and farther from the front face 9A.

The first driving source M1 is located at a position on a same side ofthe side frame 95B and the metal plate 99B on the rear as the conveyanceguide 30, in other words, at a frontward position with respect to theside frame 95B and the metal plate 99B on the rear, and is supported bythe metal plate 99B on the rear. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 8, a drivingaxis X1 of the first driving source M1 extends in the widthwisedirection W1, i.e., the front-rear direction.

As shown in FIG. 4, the conveyance guide 30, including the conveyorsurface 36, the guiding surface 38B, the conveyor surfaces 39G1, 39G2,and the guiding surfaces 37G1, 37G2, includes an approximately U-shapedportion, at which the conveyance guide 30 extended leftward from thefeed tray 91 curves downward and turns leftward. Meanwhile, the firstdriving source M1 is arranged inside the curvature of the U-shapedportion.

As shown in, for example, FIGS. 8 and 9, the first driving train 110 islocated on a side of the side frame 95 and the metal plate 99B on therear opposite to the conveyance guide 30, in other words, on a rearwardside of the side frame 95 and the metal plate 99B, and is supported bythe side frame 95B and the metal plate 99B.

A quantity of gears in the first driving train 110 is substantiallylarger than a quantity of gears in the second driving train 120.Therefore, the first driving source M1 employs a larger direct currentmotor than the second driving source M2. As a result, the first drivingsource M1 and the first driving train 110 are substantially heavier thanthe second driving source M2 and the second driving train 120.

The first driving source M1 may rotate and produce a driving force underthe control of the controller 7. The first driving train 110 includes aplurality of gears and may transmit the driving force from the firstdriving source M1 to the feed roller 41, the separation roller 42, thefirst conveyor roller 43, the second conveyor roller 44, and theejection roller 47.

As shown in FIG. 4, the separation roller 42 is arranged at a positionon a downstream side with respect to the conveyor edge 36E of theconveyor surface 36 in the first chute member 35 in the conveyingdirection D1 and an upper position with respect to the conveyor surface36. A rotation shaft 42S of the separation roller 42 supports a holder42F pivotably. The holder 42F is arranged to extend rightward from therotation shaft 42S over the conveyor edge 36E of the conveyor surface36.

The feed roller 41 is retained rotatably at a rightward portion of theholder 42F. The feed roller 41 is arranged at a position to face themovable plate 50 from above. The rotation shaft 42S and gears, which arenot shown, in the holder 42F may transmit the driving force from thefirst driving source M1 to the feed roller 41 to rotate the feed roller41 in a direction, in which the sheets SH on the feed tray 91 may beconveyed toward the conveyor surface 36 in the conveyance guide 30. Thefeed roller 41 is movable in the vertical direction along with pivotingmovements of the holder 42F.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, in the first housing 9, arranged is aholder-posture detectable sensor 42J. The holder-posture detectablesensor 42J may detect whether a posture of the holder 42F is within apredetermined range and transmit the detected result to the controller7.

In particular, the holder-posture detectable sensor 42J may detect aposture of the holder 42F when a lower end of the feed roller 41contacts an uppermost sheet SH in the sheets SH on the feed tray 91;thereby, the holder-posture detectable sensor 42J may indirectly detectwhether a difference in height between the uppermost sheet SH and theconveyor edge 36E of the conveyor surface 36 is in a correct range, inwhich the upper most sheet SH may be forwarded to the conveyor surface36 without colliding with the conveyor edge 36E.

The holder 42F shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 is an exemplary posture being in apredetermined range. When the holder 42F is in this posture, a heightdifference between the uppermost sheet SH in the sheets SH on the feedtray 91 and the conveyor edge 36E of the conveyor surface 36 is in thecorrect range. Therefore, the feed roller 41 may feed the uppermostsheet SH to the conveyor surface 36 toward a position between theseparation roller 42 and the separation pad 42A.

As shown in FIG. 4, the separation pad 42A is supported by the firstchute member 35 at a position directly below the separation roller 42 inan arrangement to be exposed from the conveyor surface 36. Theseparation pad 42A is urged toward the separation roller 42.

The separation roller 42 may apply a conveying force directed downstreamin the conveying direction D1 to the sheet SH reaching a nippingposition between the separation roller 42 and the separation pad 42A.The separation pad 42A may, when two or more sheets SH are conveyed tothe nipping position, apply a force to stop the conveyance to thesheet(s) SH other than the sheet SH that contacts the separation roller42.

The first conveyor roller 43 is supported by the first chute member 35,at an intermediate position in the conveyor surface 36 in the conveyingdirection D1. The first pinch roller 43P is supported by the covermember 38 at a position on the guiding surface 38G and is urged towardthe first conveyor roller 43. The first roller 43 may, together with thefirst pinch roller 43P, nip the sheet SH separated from the other sheetsSH by the separation roller 42 and the separation pad 42A and convey theseparated sheet SH toward the second conveyor roller 44 and the secondpinch roller 44P.

The second conveyor roller 44 is supported by the second chute member37, at an intermediate position in the guiding surface 37G1 in theconveying direction D1. The second pinch roller 44P is supported by thebase member 39 at a position on the conveyor surface 39G1 and is urgedtoward the second conveyor roller 44. The second roller 44 may, togetherwith the second pinch roller 44P, nip the sheet SH conveyed by the firstconveyor roller 43 and the first pinch roller 43P and convey the sheetSH toward the reader surface 8B, i.e., toward the reading sensor 3Sstaying still at the stationary reading position.

The ejection roller 47 is supported by the second chute member 37 at aposition in a rightward end area in the guiding surface 37G2. Theejection pinch roller 47P is supported by the base member 39 at aposition in a rightward end area in the conveyor surface 39G2 and isurged toward the ejection roller 47. The ejection roller 47 may,together with the ejection pinch roller 47P, nip the sheet SH passingover the reader surface 8B and being guided by the conveyor surface 39and the guiding surface 37G2 and eject the sheet SH at the ejection tray96.

<Image Reading Action>

When the image reading apparatus 1 described above reads an image of anoriginal document supported on the document supporting surface 8A, thecontroller 7 controls the scanner driving source 3M in the reader unit 3to operate the scanner device, which is not shown, to move the readingsensor 3S in the crosswise direction from a read-start position locatedunderneath a leftward edge of the document supporting surface 8A to aread-end position located underneath a rightward edge of the documentsupporting surface 8A. Meanwhile, the reading sensor 3S reads an imageof the original document supported on the document supporting surface8A. Thereafter, the controller 7 controls the scanner driving source 3Min the reader unit 3 to operate the scanner device to move the readingsensor 3S that finished reading in a reverse direction to move from therightward end to the leftward end and return to a standby position.

Moreover, the image reading apparatus 1 may convey the sheet SHsupported on the feed tray 91 through the automatic conveyor 4 and readan image of the sheet SH being conveyed. In particular, the controller 7controls the scanner driving source 3M of the reader unit 3 to operatethe scanner device to place the reading sensor 3S at the stationaryreading position located underneath the reader surface 8B.

Next, the controller 7 determines whether the posture of the holder 42His in the predetermined range, which may be, for example, as shown inFIG. 4.

If the posture of the holder 42F is not in the predetermined range, thecontroller 7 determines that the height difference between the uppermostsheet SH in the sheets SH on the feed tray 91 and the conveyor edge 36Eof the conveyor surface 36 is outside the correct range. Therefore, thecontroller 7 controls the second driving source M2 to rotate in thenormal direction to move the link lever 58 to pivot upward so that themovable plate 5 may be moved upward until the posture of the holder 42Ffalls in the predetermined range.

Next, the controller 7 operates the first driving source M1 to drive thefeed roller 41, the separation roller 42, the first conveyor roller 43,the second conveyor roller 44, and the ejection roller 47 to convey thesheets SH on the feed tray 91 one by one along the conveyance guide 30.

When the sheet SH being conveyed on the conveyor surfaces 36, 39G1, 39G2passes over the reader surface 8B, the controller 7 controls the readingsensor 3S staying still at the stationary reading position to read theimage of the sheet SH. Thereafter, the controller 7 controls the sheetSH, whose image has been read, to be conveyed by the ejection roller 47and the ejection pinch roller 47P and ejected at the ejection tray 96.

While the sheet SH is being ejected, the controller 7 controls thesecond driving source M2 to rotate intermittently, based on signals fromthe holder-posture detectable sensor 42J and the reduced amount of thesheets SH on the feed tray 91, to cause the movable plate 50 to pivotupward little by little in small motions so that the posture of theholder 42F may be maintained in the predetermined range.

After the amount of the sheets SH on the feed tray 91 is reduced, asshown in FIG. 5, and when no further sheet SH remains on the feed tray91, the controller 7 stops the first driving source M1 and the seconddriving source M2 to terminate the image reading action.

Thereafter, the controller 7 controls the scanner driving source 3M inthe reader unit 3 to operate the scanner device to move the readingsensor 3S to return to the standby position. Moreover, the controller 7controls the second driving source M2 to rotate in the reverse directionto move the link lever 58 to pivot downward so that the movable plate 50may return to the position shown in FIG. 4.

<Benefits>

According to the image reading apparatus 1 in the embodiment describedabove, as shown in FIGS. 6-10, the first driving source M1 and the firstdriving train 110 arranged on the side toward the rear face 9B and thesecond driving source M2 and the second driving train 120 arranged onthe side toward the front face 9A are distributed to the rearward sideand the frontward side, respectively, in the first housing 9. Therefore,in the area toward the rear face 9B in the first housing 9, a space toaccommodate the first driving source M1 and the first driving train 110may be reserved easily, and in the area toward the front face 9A in thefirst housing 9, a space to accommodate the second driving source M2 andthe second driving train 120 may be reserved easily.

Therefore, the freedom of layout to arrange the first driving source M1,the first driving train 110, the second driving source M2, and thesecond driving train 120 may be improved.

Moreover, in the image reading apparatus 1 in the embodiment describedabove, as shown in FIG. 3, the first housing 9 is swingably coupled tothe second housing 8 through the hinges 80 to swing about the open/closeaxis X9 between the closed position and the open position. Meanwhile,the rear face 9B, toward which the first driving source M1 and the firstdriving train 110 are arranged, is located on the same side, i.e., therear side, as the open/close axis X9 in the first housing 9. On theother hand, the front face 9A, toward which the second driving source M2and the second driving train 120 are arranged, is located on theopposite side of the first housing 9 from the open/close axis X9. Inthis regard, the first driving source M1 and the first driving train110, which are heavier than the second driving source M2 and the seconddriving train 120, may be arranged in the area closer to the hinges 80.Therefore, when the first housing 9 is moved to swing between the closedposition and the open position, deformation of the base member 39 andthe other members in the first housing 9 may be restrained. As a result,the first housing 9 may be restrained from being damaged.

Moreover, in the image reading apparatus 1 in the embodiment describedabove, as shown in FIG. 6, the driving axis X2 of the second drivingsource M2 extends in the direction orthogonal to the widthwise directionW1. Therefore, a volume of the second driving source M2 may berestrained from increasing, and the space to arrange the second drivingsource M2 on the side toward the front face 9A in the first housing maybe reduced in the widthwise direction W1.

Moreover, in the image reading apparatus 1 in the embodiment describedabove, as shown in FIG. 10, in the view along the widthwise directionW1, i.e., the front-rear direction, the driving axis X2 of the seconddriving source M2 inclines with respect to the vertical direction and tothe horizontal direction. Therefore, the volume of the second drivingsource M2 may be restrained from increasing in the vertical andhorizontal directions, and the space to arrange the second drivingsource M2 on the side toward the front face 9A in the first housing 9may be reduced in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction.

Moreover, in the image reading apparatus 1 in the embodiment describedabove, as shown in FIG. 6, the second driving source M2 is arranged topartly coincide in the widthwise direction W1 with the shelter portion98A on the front. Further, the second driving train 120 is arranged topartly coincide in the widthwise direction W1 with the shelter portion98A. According to this arrangement, with use of the space to arrange theshelter portion 98A on the front, the space to arrange the seconddriving source M2 and the second driving train 120 may be reservedeasily.

Moreover, in the image reading apparatus 1 in the embodiment describedabove, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the first driving source M1 is locatedat a position on the same side of the side frame 95B and the metal plate99B on the rear as the conveyance guide 30, in other words, at thefrontward position with respect to the side frame 95B and the metalplate 99B on the rear, and is supported by the metal plate 99B on therear. Meanwhile, the first driving train 110 is located on the side ofthe side frame 95 and the metal plate 99B on the rear opposite to theconveyance guide 30, in other words, on the rearward side of the sideframe 95 and the metal plate 99B, and is supported by the side frame 95Band the metal plate 99B. Thus, while the first driving source M1 tendsto be increased in its volume in the widthwise direction W1, with thearrangement of the first driving source M1 located at the position onthe side of the side frame 95B and the metal plate 99B toward theconveyance guide 30, the distance between the rear face 9B of the firsthousing 9 and the side frame 95B or the metal plate 99B on the rear inthe widthwise direction W1 may be reduced.

Moreover, in the image reading apparatus 1 in the embodiment describedabove, as shown in FIG. 4, the conveyance guide 30, including theconveyor surface 36, the guiding surface 38G, the conveyor surfaces39G1, 39G2, and the guiding surfaces 37G1, 37G2, has the approximatelyU-shaped portion, at which the conveyance guide 30 extended leftwardfrom the feed tray 91 curves downward and orients leftward. Meanwhile,the first driving source M1 is arranged inside the curvature of theU-shaped portion. Therefore, the space to arrange the first drivingsource M1 on the side of the rearward side frame 95B and the rearwardmetal plate 99B toward the conveyance guide 30 may be reserved easily.

Although an example of carrying out the invention has been described,those skilled in the art will appreciate that there are numerousvariations and permutations of the image reading apparatus that fallwithin the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in theappended claims. It is to be understood that the subject matter definedin the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specificfeatures or act described above. Rather, the specific features and actsdescribed above are disclosed as example forms of implementing theclaims.

For example, the image reading apparatus may not necessarily be asingle-functioned image reading apparatus but may be included in amultifunction peripheral machine having a plurality of image processingfunctions.

What is claimed is:
 1. An image reading apparatus, comprising: a feed tray configured to support sheets for being fed, the feed tray comprising a movable plate configured to move vertically according to an amount of the sheets supported by the feed tray; a conveyance guide configured to guide the sheets conveyed from the feed tray; a conveyor configured to convey the sheets supported by the feed tray along the conveyance guide; a reading sensor configured to read images of the sheets conveyed along the conveyance guide; a first housing accommodating at least the conveyance guide and the conveyor, the first housing comprising a first outer face and a second outer face facing opposite to each other in a widthwise direction of the conveyance guide; a first driving source accommodated in the first housing on a side toward the first outer face, the first driving source being configured to produce a driving force; a first driving train accommodated in the first housing on the side toward the first outer face, the first driving train being configured to transmit the driving force from the first driving source to the conveyor; a second driving source accommodated in the first housing on a side toward the second outer face, the second driving source being configured to produce a driving force; and a second driving train accommodated in the first housing on the side toward the second outer face, the second driving train being configured to transmit the driving force from the second driving source to the movable plate.
 2. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a second housing arranged at a position lower than the first housing, the second housing accommodating the reading sensor, the second housing comprising a document supporting surface for supporting an original document, whose image is to be read by the reading sensor, on an upper face thereof, wherein the first housing is swingably coupled to the second housing through a hinge to swing about an open/close axis extending in parallel with an edge of the document supporting surface, the first housing being swingable between a closed position, in which the first housing covers the document supporting surface, and an open position, in which the first housing exposes the document supporting surface; wherein the widthwise direction is orthogonal to the open/close axis; wherein the first outer face is located on a same side of the first housing as the open-close axis; and wherein the second outer face is located on a side of the first housing opposite to the open/close axis.
 3. The image reading apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a driving axis of the second driving source extends in a direction orthogonal to the widthwise direction.
 4. The image reading apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the driving axis of the second driving source inclines with respect to a vertical direction and a horizontal direction in a view along the widthwise direction.
 5. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a width-restrictive guide arranged movably on the movable plate, wherein the first housing comprises a shelter portion formed in an area on the upper face thereof between the width-restrictive guide and the second outer face in the widthwise direction, the shelter portion being formed to recess toward the second outer face away from the width-restrictive guide; and wherein the second driving source and the second driving train are arranged at positions coincident with the shelter portion in the widthwise direction.
 6. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first housing comprises a frame member arranged on the side of the first housing toward the first outer face, the frame member extending along the first outer face; wherein the first driving source is located on a same side of the frame member as the conveyance guide and is supported by the frame member; and wherein the first driving train is located on a side of the frame member opposite to the conveyance guide and is supported by the frame member.
 7. The image reading apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the conveyance guide includes an approximately U-shaped portion, at which the conveyance guide extended sideward from the feed tray curves downward and turns to an opposite direction. 